By aircraft pilot there will be understood here the pilot in addition to his copilot, as well as possibly any person participating in flying of an aircraft and who is seated in the flight deck to assist the pilot and/or the copilot in flying operations or functions linked to the specificities of the aircraft concerned. In the context of commercial flights, for transport of passengers or goods, there generally is a pilot and a copilot. In certain aircraft, more often than not military, a third man is required to be seated in the flight deck so as to take care of certain specific functions which may vary according to the flight missions of the aircraft.
An aircraft intended for transport of passengers generally comprises a cockpit in which a pilot and a copilot are seated and a cabin intended to accommodate the passengers. An oxygen mask supplied by a system is associated with each seat of the passenger cabin. There also is a system, sometimes independent of the system supplying the oxygen masks intended for the passengers, for the flight crew located in the cockpit of the aircraft. The system provided for the occupants of the cockpit consists mainly of one or more oxygen cylinders, oxygen masks and a circuit connecting the cylinders to the masks.
The oxygen cylinders sometimes are installed directly in the cockpit of the aircraft but more often than not in an electronics bay located beneath the flight deck. The oxygen masks are stowed close to the seats for the pilot and the copilot. They are found in particular in the side spaces to the right and to the left of the pilots, in the flight deck, these side spaces commonly being called “consoles.” Thus an oxygen mask generally is found to the left of the pilot and to the right of the copilot. A circuit generally comprising both rigid ducts and flexible ducts makes it possible to ensure distribution of the oxygen to the occupants of the cockpit. This circuit also integrates components making it possible to adjust the flow and the pressure of the oxygen delivered to the oxygen masks.
Such an oxygen supply system is complex and as a result costly. As far as safety is concerned, it is advisable, for example, to protect the circuit and the oxygen cylinders from special risks that an aircraft may encounter during its flight (bird strikes, explosive risks, . . . ) that may lead to diverting the oxygen supply circuit. This system, of course, occupies a certain space and sometimes constitutes an obstacle for running of other piping.